Old Mill District and Hayden Homes Amphitheater among 20 organizations selected for 2025 Bend Cultural Tourism Fund grants
The Old Mill District and Hayden Homes Amphitheater are proud recipients of a 2025 Bend Cultural Tourism Fund (BCTF) grant. The $8,000 award will support Diversity in Music, a new initiative designed to promote LGBTQ+ and BIPOC artists during Central Oregon’s off-peak travel seasons.
The program will help bring underrepresented voices to the stage through live performances scheduled during spring and fall months, creating inclusive cultural experiences and adding to the region’s year-round creative momentum.
“This grant gives us additional tools to bring more diversity to our stage,” said Beau Eastes, marketing director for the Old Mill District and Hayden Homes Amphitheater. “Our goal is to help make Bend and Central Oregon a truly welcoming place for all and the way our organization can do that is by bringing in as diverse a concert lineup as possible.”
In total, 20 organizations dedicated to Bend’s arts and culture scene will receive a combined $300,000 in grants from the BCTF to help promote upcoming events and expand access to cultural experiences. The grants are funded through taxes paid by guests who stay overnight in Bend at hotels, vacation rentals, RV parks and other lodging properties.
An independent review board, the Bend Cultural Tourism Commission, evaluated 28 submissions before selecting the final recipients. Projects range from a volcano exhibit at the High Desert Museum to a First Peoples Celebration with OSU–Cascades and new programming from the team behind Volcanic Theatre. Visit Bend’s board of directors approved the final list of recipients in May.
According to Visit Bend’s destination stewardship director Zavier Borja, “This fund is about more than tourism. It’s about reinvesting in the creative heartbeat of our community. By directing visitor dollars into arts and cultural experiences, we’re supporting the people and organizations who make Bend such a dynamic and inspiring place to be.”
Since its inception, the BCTF has awarded more than $2.5 million to 134 projects. The grants fall into two categories: Small Marketing and Research Grants that help grow emerging events and Large Marketing Grants that support established activities with measurable economic impact.
Visit Bend CEO Jeff Knapp added, “Art doesn’t happen in a vacuum. We are an extraordinary community that can hit above its weight when it comes to arts and culture because we’ve been smart about using visitor dollars to help local groups flourish.”
2025 BCTF grantees, project and amounts:
• 1988 Entertainment – Volcanic Arts – $23,000
• Art Sprouts – Ukrainian Alliance of Central Oregon: Cultural Nexus Project – $14,000
• BendFilm – Bend Film Festival – $31,000
• Blue Moon Media – Beertown Comedy – $8,000
• Cascade Relays Foundation – TEDxBend – $8,000
• Central Oregon Center for the Arts – Site Evaluation Analysis – $10,000
• Central Oregon Latin Festival – Central Oregon Taco Fest – $13,000
• High Desert Museum – Volcanoes Exhibit – $33,000
• La Bon Burlesque – Murder-Mystery Series – $9,000
• Lara Media Services – Dia de los Muertos Bend – $18,000
• Lay It Out Events – Bend WinterFest Light Art Exhibition – $20,000
• Luscious Supper Club – Luscious Bend Food and Wine Festival – $8,000
• Old Mill District – Diversity in Music – $8,000
• Oregon State University Cascades – First Peoples Celebration – $12,000
• OUT Central Oregon – Winter PrideFest – $20,000
• Paula Dreyer – Piano Flow Live – $6,000
• Sacred Art of Living Education and Retreat Center – Circle of Life Event – $6,000
• Scalehouse – Bend Design Conference – $20,000
• The Greenhouse Cabaret – 2026 Season – $20,000
• Tower Theatre Foundation – Live at the Tower Marketing Campaign – $13,000
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